From the Heart – November 6, 2019

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
Jeremiah 31:33

From the Heart

Going to the pool used to be quite stressful for me. I felt like I spent all my time reminding my kids of the pool rules. I’d yell, “Stop running by the pool! You are going to get hurt.” They would walk for a moment, but sure enough, the next time they got out of the pool they would run to the other side.

It’s much better now. My kids are older and they seem to understand that if they run, they can slip and fall and hurt themselves. They don’t need external reminders because they internally understand the reasons for the rules.

In a certain sense, this is what it means to be a New Testament Christian. Before Jesus came, the Old Testament believers behaved like my young children. They needed lots of rules and reminders. And even when God sent special prophets to point them back to the written code of God’s law, they still slipped back into their old rebellious ways.

But the prophet Jeremiah looked forward to the day when God would do something new. The prophet spoke of a day when the Lord would establish a new covenant with his people. He would write his laws in their minds and their hearts. God’s people would no longer need all the rules and reminders to follow him because they would be his mature sons and daughters.

Jeremiah’s words have come true. Jesus has come and made us right with God. He sends his Holy Spirit to us so that we might follow him internally, from the heart.

Call upon the Holy Spirit to show you Jesus and the power of his love. Ask him to lead you in the process of maturing in your faith, so you would follow him.

Prayer:
Holy Spirit, live in me that I might live as a mature follower of Jesus. Write God’s precious laws on my heart and give me the desire and strength to follow them. Amen